Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Mars One starts recruiting aspiring Mars inhabitants
The nonprofit organization Mars One started recruiting potential Mars residents on Tuesday, news that thrilled sci-fi lovers around the world.After a year of attracting donations and coping with technical problems, the organization kicked off its first recruiting process aimed at seeking potential Mars inhabitants.“We are very excited about launching the selection program. This is an international mission and it is very important for the project that anyone anywhere can ask themselves: Do I want
TechnologyApril 23, 2013
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Seoul shares down 0.65 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.65 percent lower late Tuesday morning, led by losses in techs and autos, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 12.49 points to 1,913.82 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech heavyweights lost ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1.06 percent, and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.69 percent. Leading flat panel manufacturer LG Display decreased 1.31 percent. Carmakers also traded lower, with Hyundai Motor falling 0.27
April 23, 2013
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Google's new eyewear may not function well in S. Korea
South Koreans may not be able to fully utilize Google Inc.'s new Internet-linked glasses mainly due to the country's tight regulations on map data, industry sources said Tuesday.The wearable Internet device, rumored to hit the market later this year, reportedly functions as a computer, and features a built-in camera, microphone and speaker technology and can link to the Internet through Wi-Fi connections. One of its key features, among others, is reportedly the ability to overlay information abo
TechnologyApril 23, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on blue-chip losses
South Korean stocks opened lower on Tuesday due mainly to losses in large-cap shares of techs and builders, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.09 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1922.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the decline, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.73 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics losing 0.22 percent. Samsung Techwin, a defense machinery firm, shed 0.15 percent.Builders also traded
April 23, 2013
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Reactor at Shin Wolseong nuclear plant halts operations
A nuclear reactor at the country's Shin Wolseong power plant stopped operations early Tuesday with no immediate risk of radiation leak, plant operators said.The 1-million-kilowatt reactor stopped operating at 7:44 a.m., according to the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. The problem has yet to be identified, but company officials said the reactor was in stable condition with no dangers of a radiation leak.The reactor, located some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, began commercial operation in J
IndustryApril 23, 2013
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Parliament tentatively agrees to extend retirement age to 60
Consensus has been reached between ruling and opposition parties to extend the legal retirement age of South Korean workers to 60 beginning in 2016, parliamentary officials said Monday.Currently, no legal age limit is set for South Koreans to retire but all government offices and most private-sector businesses retire their workers at between 56 and 58.The consensus, reached between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party, is no surprise, because it was their camp
April 23, 2013
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No 'sustained' human-to-human transmission of bird flu: WHO
SHANGHAI (AFP) -- A World Health Organisation official reiterated Monday there is still no evidence that a new strain of deadly bird flu is passing in a "sustained" fashion from person to person, despite fears some family members may have infected one another."Right now we do not see evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission", Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment, said at a press conference.He added, however, that officials "are always wo
TechnologyApril 22, 2013
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BOK to aggressively pursue market-stabilizing measures: Kim
South Korea's central bank said Monday it plans to aggressively map out measures to stabilize the financial markets as high currency volatility is feared to hurt the Korean economy."While closely monitoring the financial markets, if needed, we plan to pump liquidity into the financial system and flexibly manage the macro-prudential measures," Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo told lawmakers.The governor said that the central bank continues to keep tabs on possible outflow of foreign capital and
April 22, 2013
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NTS to expand investigations into offshore tax evaders
National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Duk-joong said Monday that the tax agency will expand its investigations into companies or the wealthy suspected of holding offshore accounts and purposefully not making disclosures for tax payments.Also, the tax agency will target those who have avoided regular filings of their gift and inheritance taxes after transferring their assets or operational ownerships to next of kin or business subsidiaries.The NTS will maximize the use of the financial regulators
April 22, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korea remains stable in food security
Korea ranked 21st for food security in a global survey of 105 countries, posting a score of 77.8 out of 100, according to the Korea Rural Economic Research Institute on Monday. The index was created by the U.K.-based Economist Intelligence Unit, using data on food affordability, availability, quality and safety of each country surveyed. The U.S. topped the index, securing a score of 89.5, followed by Denmark (88.1) and Norway (88.0). The survey, however, didn’t use food self-sufficiency data to
IndustryApril 22, 2013
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G20 approval of weaker yen to impact Korea
The tacit endorsement of Japan’s monetary easing by finance chiefs of the Group of 20 is expected to further make Japan’s exchange rates to the dollar competitively higher, while adversely affecting Korea’s won and exports, analysts said Monday.The G20 finance ministers did not directly criticize Japan’s easy-money policy that has recently boosted the pace of Japan’s yen depreciation through the central bank’s bond-buying scheme, in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to revive its econom
April 22, 2013
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Credit delinquents start to apply for rescue fund
Financial authorities on Monday started to take preliminary applications for the “National Happiness Fund” recently set up to rescue individual credit defaulters.While the preliminary application process will continue until April 30, the authorities will screen applicants between May and October, said the Financial Services Commission. Eligible applicants should be in arrears for at least 180 weekdays and their debt should not exceed 100 million won ($88,500).Debtors are allowed to submit applic
April 22, 2013
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Korean firms hoard W2tr in tax havens
Korean enterprises remitted about 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) to tax havens such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Delaware state in the U.S. last year, data from the Bank of Korea showed Monday.A BOK official noted that the nation’s 30 major business groups including Samsung operate a combined 250 subsidiaries in tax havens.Several of the overseas units in such areas providing tax benefits are reportedly known as bogus firms with no business activities, allegedly established to raise offshore fundin
April 22, 2013
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[Photo News] Smart hospital
TechnologyApril 22, 2013
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LG Display swings to black in Q1
South Korean panel giant LG Display Co. said Monday it swung to profit in the first quarter from a year earlier, driven by solid growth of panels for smart devices.Net profit reached 3.48 billion won ($3.1 million) in the January-March period, compared with a loss of 129 billion won a year earlier, LG Display said in a regulatory filing.Revenue jumped 10 percent on-year to 6.8 trillion won in the first quarter, while the company posted an operating profit of 151 billion won, a sharp turnaround f
April 22, 2013
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Hyundai overtakes GM Holden in Australian car market
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, has overtaken GM Holden Ltd., the Australian unit of General Motors, in sales of cars in Australia for the first time in March, industry data showed Monday.Hyundai Motor maintained fourth place in sales of cars in Australia by selling a total of 8,402 units in March, up 7.6 percent from a year ago. Sales of Hyundai’s Tucson ix35 sports utility vehicle reached 1,529 in March, up 83 percent from a year ago.GM Holden trailed behind Hyundai by sell
April 22, 2013
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SK Innovation to launch car battery biz in China
SK Innovation, the holding company of SK Group’s energy-related businesses, said Monday it will enter the Chinese electric-car battery market by setting up a joint venture in Beijing by June this year with its two state-run Chinese partners Beijing Automotive Industry Holding and Beijing Electronics Holding. For this plan, the company’s top management, including SK Holdings vice chairman Chey Jae-won, signed an investment letter of intent with their Chinese counterparts on Monday in Beijing. The
April 22, 2013
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POSCO unit begins work on plant for ‘needle coke’
POSCO, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, said Monday that its chemical unit broke ground for a plant that will produce so-called “needle coke,” a special type of coke used in making LEDs, solar cells, secondary batteries and electrodes. Needle coke, produced from coal tar pitch, has excellent properties such as a low coefficient of thermal expansion and low electric resistance, according to POSCO.In 2011, POSCO ChemTech Co. set up a joint venture with two Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi Chemic
April 22, 2013
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IFA believes in growth despite European woes
SARDINIA, Italy ― “Growth” is the keyword for this year’s IFA, the world’s largest consumer electronics and home appliances show. That usually shouldn’t be baffling or less than expected at a bustling, successful trade show for consumer electronics such as IFA. However, considering that a large part of Europe is still picking up the pieces from an economic crisis, growth is a significant accomplishment. “This year, we will grow again, and it’s not such easy growth,” said Jens Heithecker, IFA’s e
TechnologyApril 22, 2013
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Samsung, LG can’t be No. 1 in Europe: Miele
SARDINIA, Italy ― Miele, a leading German high-end home appliance maker, finds it hard to believe that Samsung and LG will lead the markets in Europe by 2015. “(Samsung and LG) have advantage of size, their knowledge in electronics, but we’ll see if they will make it to No. 1,” Miele head Reinhard Zinkann said at the IFA Global Conference, adding that he had “certain doubts.”He also prodded the Korean brands to stop tooting their own horn and setting their standards too high, calling on them not
TechnologyApril 22, 2013